Planet Arus: 5:05 am

"Can someone tell me why I was dragged out of my nice warm bed at this ungodly hour?" Hunk grumbled as he maneuvered Yellow Lion into formation. "It's not like Doom is just around the corner anymore, you know."

"Cheer up big guy, I hear Nanny is planning a special breakfast for us after drills, in honor of our latest victory!" Pidge consoled his friend, in hearty tones.

"It's sure going to take Lotor and Hagar a really long time to find more RoBeast volunteers after what we did," Lance cackled.

"Yeah, those giant anti-lazon enemas were just what the doctor ordered; the RoBeasts on Doom will be running on empty for days!" Hunk chortled." Which brings me back to my original question, why are we out here?"

"Because we can't afford to relax our guard; who knows what evil magic Hagar might have put away for emergencies? " Their ever-somber Captain cut in firmly.

A chorus of heavy sighs greeted his statement.

"Or what Prince Lotor might have up his sleeve," a feminine voice added, uneasily.

"Don't worry Princess, you know that I-um, we won't let that creep near enough to lay a hand on you!" Captain Keith vowed, his dark eyes flashing, intensity and protectiveness oozing from his every pore.

Lance rolled his eyes at Hunk and Pidge's images on his view screens as if to say, 'here we go again.'.

"Oh Keith, you're so brave! I don't know how to thank you, or any of you boys for that matter." Allura gushed affectionately. "You are all my best friends!"

"I can think of a way to thank me, Princess," Lance told her, grinning slyly. "It involves you and me and some cheesecake."

"Knock it off, Lance!" Keith glared at the smirking Red Lion pilot on his screen, his dark eyes smoldering with suppressed emotion.

"Just a thought," his friend shrugged, laughing quietly.

Hunk spoke up in an amazed tone. "Jeez, Keith, it almost sounds like you're jea-"

"Why don't you want Lance to have any cheesecake, Keith? " The pilot of Blue Lion broke in, her voice sounding reproachful. "What's the harm in it? I'd be happy to give it to him if that is what he wants."

"WOO HOO!" Lance hollered, exultantly. He turned to look at Allura, an innocent smile plastered on his handsome face. "Do you know what my very favorite flavor is, Princess?"

"No, what is it?" She asked, returning his smile warmly.

"Wild Cherry. It's the best." His smile broadened to epic proportions.

"That's enough, Lance!" The Captain abruptly cut his second-in command off.

Allura protested, "but Keith, he was only trying to-"

The Black Lion pilot interrupted her, his eyes squeezing shut as a shaft of an unnamed emotion sliced through him. "Princess, please, you don't understand what he meant by- uh, I mean, there has to be some other way to thank- um, I mean...you see, Lance was making a joke of sorts, the kind Terrans call a double entrendre."

"A sexual joke with a hidden meaning? I know about those, but I don't think it applies to this situation." Allura replied, thoughtfully. "There's no ambiguity about enjoying any variety of cheesecake, that I can tell. And furthermore, if Lance really wants wild cherry, I am sure I can furnish it for him, or anyone else, for that matter."

Distinct choking noises could be heard coming over the Red, Green and Yellow Lion intercom systems. Allura appeared not to notice. She smiled teasingly into her viewer, meeting her commander's bewildered stare. She saw him shift uncomfortably in his seat, and comprehension dawned. Her expression became apologetic.

"Oh dear...are you feeling slighted? You know I wouldn't ever leave any of you 'out in the cold', as I believe your Terran expression goes. Would you like some of the wild cherry as well, Keith? Or do you prefer a different kind?"

"Uh...well...." The Voltron Captain felt the cold sweat drip down his forehead, and turn to vapor as his face grew hot. He swiftly cut off his visual connection to the other lions, so his teammates wouldn't see him in such a state. With one unsteady hand, he wiped his visor, which was rapidly fogging up, all the while trying to form an appropriate, mannerly explanation of how this specific flavor qualified as a double entrendre.

Dammit, he couldn't think of any.

"Cat got your tongue, Keith?" Lance was openly chortling now.

Hunk's deep chuckles and Pidge's snickers also could be heard.

"Keith, are you still there? Did you copy? "Allura was sounding slightly vexed. "I asked you if you wanted wild cherry! If you don't want it, say so, and I'll give your piece to someone else!"

Keith winced, as deafening laughter crackled over the comm system, wiping out all hope of being able to focus on the problem at hand. He needed help.

~Help me, good King Alfor!~ He prayed desperately. ~Your daughter's virtue is at stake here.~

A sudden alarm going off on his console mercifully diverted everyone's attention.

"I'm picking up an anomaly on long range sensors, Chief." Pidge spoke up, moving various levers and switches.

"What is it?" Keith asked, turning his visuals back on and moving various levers and switches.

"I don't know, Skipper, I guess that's why we call it an anomaly. Gosh dang it, these levers and switches never tell me anything," the Green Lion pilot grumbled. "I've lost it now, couldn't even get a fix on it."

"Oh no," the Princess breathed, while pushing buttons and turning dials. "I hope it's not Lotor."

All his previous discomfort gone, Keith growled, "Don't worry, Princess, if he touches one hair on your head, I'll-"

"Yeah, yeah, Captain Vengeance, we all know the drill!" Lance interrupted impatiently.

"Actually, we don't, Red Lion," Hunk corrected his irritated teammate. "Keith never finishes that sentence."

"That's right!" Lance responded, looking thoughtful. "What would you do if Lotor tries to fondle the Princess, Keith?"

"Yes, Keith, we'd like to know too!" Hunk and Pidge chorused.

"Me too," Allura added, her blue eyes sparkling with mischief and something else.

"Uh..."

"Well, Skipper? Surely you do have something in mind for that arrogant SOB after all this time, don't you?" Lance ruthlessly needled his friend. "I'm sure Lotor has something really good cooked up if he ever catches you!"

Allura gasped audibly. "Lance! What a terrible thing to say!"

The Red Lion pilot winked flirtatiously at her. "Don't worry about it, Princess, old Blue Ears will never get the drop on Keith. Know why? Because, unlike Prince Ally-Obsessed, our leader's iron clad discipline won't let pretty faces distract him."

"Oh." Allura said, softly, not sure if she was relieved or disappointed at hearing this piece of news.

Keith sighed in angry frustration, and then tried to run his hand through his ebony locks. He stopped the motion when he realized he still had his helmet on. He settled for adjusting his visor, taking a moment to gather his composure. He was aware of the smirking Red Lion pilot watching his every move on the screen, and an inscrutable mask dropped over his boyish features.

"Of course I have a plan, a very good plan, but I would rather not disclose it since it involves plenty of gratuitous violence." The Black Lion pilot replied coolly, a thread of steel running through his words. "Although, if you really want to know all about it, Lance, just continue to pursue that cheesecake scenario you've concocted." Keith sent his friend a feral grin as sudden silence reigned over the airwaves. "Red Lion, do you read?"

"Loud and clear," Lance mumbled. "Sheesh."

"Whoa Nellie, did I just hear that?" Hunk boomed. "Chief, it almost sounds to me like you're in love with-"

A sudden alarm went off on his console, mercifully diverting the VF's attention, but frustrating everyone else.

"I've got a fix, Keith. The dials and buttons did it!" Allura exclaimed happily.

"Nice going Princess! I knew you could do it!" Keith smiled warmly.

They gazed deeply into each other's eyes. Time seemed to freeze.

"Hello, what about the anomaly?" Pidge prodded his leader back to reality.

The ebony haired pilot blinked, and tore his gaze away from the golden haired goddess. "Oh...um, yeah, let's check it out! Look sharp team, it could be one of Lotor or Hagar's creations!"

"Oh dear, I hope it isn't Lotor," Allura whispered, her blue eyes wide and troubled.

Keith's jaw tightened with determination. "Don't worry Princess, if he-"

Lance sighed noisily. "Yeah, yeah, we know, 'Lotor touches Princess- he's space waste', let's just go, okay kids?"

The Five Lions changed course, and headed for a small forest just a few kilometers from the Castle, where their sensors showed the anomaly had now landed.

A few thousand feet below...

"Egad, Brain! You did a smashing job of bringing us in!" Pinky trilled as he clambered out of the charred mechanical suit.

"Smashing is right! Look at our suit, Pinky! It's in pieces!" The Brain cried. "How will I ever get it back together? The exoskeleton has been compromised and the circuit board was fried during network entry. We've lost everything!"

Pinky counted. "Narf! Two arms, two legs and a body; five pieces, just like Voltron! Too bad we can't fly the Big Suit parts like the lion ships fly. Zort!"

Brain blinked at his companion in astonishment. "Every so often, a bit of light peeks through that dust-covered porthole you call a brain, Pinky. You have just come up with a splendid idea; all is not lost. Now help me gather together the Big Suit, we have some work to do before we make first contact."

Just then, a thundering sound reverberated through the trees as the five lion ships buzzed the area.

"It's them, it's the Voltron Force!" Pinky screamed in jubilation. "They've spotted us and they are coming to help!"

"Of course they are," The Brain cackled. "The poor, misguided saps!"

"Oh, pretty, pretty! There's Blue Lion, the Princess is here, poit! Maybe I will be able to entertain her!" Pinky cried. He began to groom himself, then faced his big-headed friend. "How do I look, Brain?"

"Like a mouse without a clue." The Brain scoffed, cynically. "She has her own mice to amuse her, remember? Besides, they are Space Mice, you're just a low born, laboratory specimen."

"I can dream can't I? Poit! One's status shouldn't matter at' all when you are in love." Pinky sniffled, his eyes filling with moisture. "Just wait until you meet your dream girl, and you'll see how marvelous it is! Zort!"

"Not likely," The Brain snorted. "Not unless there happens to be a witty, pink haired warrior woman with megalomaniac tendencies and a passion for nuclear physics around these parts."

"Well, now that you mention it-" Pinky began, when he was cut off by the sound of a high- pitched human voice hailing them.

"Let me handle this, Pinky," The Brain hissed as the bespeckled boy ran up to them.

They're mice!" Pidge exclaimed, staring at the two wide-eyed rodents who stood rigidly at attention near what appeared to be pieces of a spacecraft of some sort.

Lance eyed the rodents suspiciously. They looked like some sort of mutant mice. Obviously their genes had been spliced; possibly by Witch Hagar. "I've got a funny feeling about this...I don't like it. They don't look like normal mice at all. If you ask me, this has all the makings of a Hagar/Lotor scheme."

"I didn't ask you." Pidge retorted. "Anyone ever tell you that you have a tendency toward paranoia? For Gosh sakes, Lance, they're just mice!"

"That's what you said the last time strange critters showed up around here, and they ended up trying to take over the Castle! " Hunk reminded his friend. "And I don't think I need to refresh your memory about what happened when you brought the Princess some tadpoles..."

"Yeah, whatever," Pidge mumbled grumpily.

The three men stared intently at the tiny intruders.

"Narf! Poit! Zort!" Pinky hiccuped nervously, earning him a harsh glare from his baggy eyed companion.

"Poit? Zort?" Pidge asked, to no one in particular. "Narf? Whattaya think, Hunk? Do you think he's trying to communicate?"

"Nah."

They exchanged glances. Then they turned to their companion, who had visibly relaxed.

"Harmless?" Hunk asked Lance in a low tone.

"Yeah, I think so, especially the goofy looking one."

"Which one are you talking about?" Pidge snickered, a mite too loudly. "They both look goofy to me!"

The Brain bit his tiny tongue at hearing the comment. ~I wouldn't talk, my little pre-pubescent pawn; anyone wearing a headband like that should be immediately scheduled for a lobotomy.~

An evil smile curled his mousy lips at the thought.

Allura joined her comrades, Keith at her heels. He continued to hover protectively in the background as she walked up to them. "Oh look, boys, the mouse with the huge head is smiling at us! Perhaps Cheddar can talk to them," Without more ado, she reached down inside the front of her uniform top to bring out her special friend. After a few seconds, it became obvious she was having some difficulty locating the creature.

"Can't blame the little guy for not wanting to leave," Pidge observed under his breath.

"Uh, maybe he got wedged in her crevice, and can't get loose," Hunk suggested quietly, assessing the situation with an experienced eye.

"It's cleavage, not crevice, Hunk." Pidge corrected in an undertone, rolling his eyes. "You make it sound like Cheddar was cliff diving."

"Oh. Sorry." Hunk blushingly mumbled, as Lance tried to hold in his giggles.

They all jumped guiltily as their leader made his presence known by meaningfully clearing his throat, wordlessly voicing his displeasure with their conduct. Lance felt the dark eyes boring into his back. He wisely refrained from asking Keith if he thought the situation warranted hands- on supervision.

Pinky sighed, dreamy eyed, as he watched Princess Allura. The Brain gave his enthralled companion a sharp elbow and warning frown, although he admitted that the sight of the beautiful young monarch groping inside her clothing was rather compelling.

It just wasn't fair, the mousy mastermind reflected bitterly. A low- born creature in this universe had not only attained the most exalted seat his planet had to offer, he was actually even comfortable within the bosom of absolute power. What was so galling about this was that no elaborate scheming had been needed, it had happened simply because the creature had kowtowed to the female human's need for a pet.

~And I'll have to take over an entire world to get the royal treatment! Although to be honest, on Earth there aren't any princesses with actual power to provide perks like those. It almost makes me long for the days of feudalism.~ The Brain mused idly.

He and the other males present continued to watch the Princess vainly try to get a grip on her pet.

"Need any help there?" Lance offered boldly, raising one eyebrow in inquiry.

"Lance..." Keith gritted, elbowing his second-in-command, his eyes helplessly following the moving, covered lump that was Allura's hand.

"What? I am only trying to offer my assistance..."

"She doesn't need it," Keith shot back, turning to glare at his friend, and trying not to notice out of the corner of one eye what the Princess had her hand at that moment.

"Lucky mouse," Hunk observed wryly, as Cheddar finally climbed into view, his progress very noticeable under the clingy fabric of the Princess' top. Allura giggled as the mouse's whiskers tickled her skin, then blushed furiously as she noticed the bemused expressions on her companion's faces. She hastily tried to divert their attention.

"Cheddar, it seems we have some visitors in need of help. Could you talk to them, please?"

The mouse nodded, smiled and gave the universal peace sign, his little red eyes gleaming smugly.

"Good! Now be extra kind, Cheddar, these two are visitors to Planet Arus, and by the looks of them, they have had a very rough time." Allura said kindly, her eyes smiling at the strangers. "I am sure we can help them rebuild their ship, we just need to find out what they need. Tell them we won't hurt them, and that we are sworn to help all those in need."

"Oh my, she's just as lovely, kind and good as she seems on the telly," Pinky breathed reverently. "Don't you think so Brain?"

"She's okay," his grouchy friend admitted. "A little saccharine and clichéd, but okay. Quite obviously, they aren't aware we are capable of speaking with humanoids. Let's see if we can communicate with our peer, before letting them know."

The big eared, red-eyed creature approached them, on all fours, his whiskers twitching in a friendly way. He rose on his back legs and looked the strangers over for a long moment.

The Brain put on his most affable expression, which still made him look like he had a migraine. Pinky grinned broadly, his large nose twitching with excitement at the possibility of making a new friend.

Cheddar smiled back, and began to speak to the alien visitors in 'Squeak and Chatter', considered the most common mouse dialect in the galaxy.

To be continued...